Insulated roof



J. H. GOODWIN May 8, 1951 INSULATED ROOF 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 11, 1948 May 8, 1951 J. H. GOODWIN INSULATED ROOF 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 11, 1948 1.9 Fig. 5?

M y 8, 1951 J. H. sooowm 2,552,092

INSULATED ROOF Filed Aug. 11, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS Patented May 8, T951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INSULATED ROOF ,Iphn H. Goodwin, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor t Overly Manufacturing Company, Greensburg, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 11, 1948, Serial No. 43,722

7 Claims. I

This invention relates to a building construction and, in particular to a pitched roof adapted for large buildings having their primary roof beam or trusses spaced relatively far apart and connected by horizontal purlins in the form of metal structural members extending therebetween.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a light, strong and weatherproof roof fully insulated and composed of preformed and partly prefabricated elements of such character that they can be laid quickly, largely by unskilled labor and without extensive cutting and fitting on the job, at least in all cases where the roof is of rectangular shape.

A secondary object is to utilize panels of cheap insulating material to form the roof proper, and to provide inexpensive means for securing them to the purlins without the necessity of riveting or bolting so that the work may be carried out entirely from one side, i. e., by workmen standing on the deck, the panels being of sufiicient strength to carry the weight of a man as soon as they are laid.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, I provide short lengths of metal rail of special channel section extending between adjacent purlins. Preformed clips engaged by the channels are Welded to the purlins. The channels have corresponding lengths of wood filler disposed therein to receive nails or screws and to reinforce the channels. Panels of insulating material such as cellulose-fiber board laid on the rails constitute the roof proper. They are preferably metal-sheathed on the lower side. A layer of insulating felt is laid on the panels and metal roofing sheets are laid on the felt layer with their horizontal edges lapped and their sloping edges joined by a batten strip screwed to the wood filler and covered by a cap strip secured to the batten strip.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed de- Y of line IV--IV of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a slightly modified construction.

Referring in detail to the drawings and, for the present to Fig. 1, a portion of a roof indicated generally at I0 is carried on a plurality of spaced purlins II extending between primary beams or roof trusses, one of which is shown at l2, of any desired or suitable construction. The purlins may be light rolled sections such as Ts or Is, secured to the beams in any known manner. This under frame for supporting the deck is of usual construction and the details thereof require no extended description, since they form no part of my invention. The primary beams will ordinarily be inclined to give the desired pitch to the roof and the purlins will extend horizontally thereacross.

My improved roof, generally speaking, includes sectional rails [3 of novel character, cooperating with anchoring clips l4 secured to the purlins II in spaced relation. The rails I3 are laid transversely of the purlins, and have a length slightly less than the center-to-center spacing of the latter. Panels l5 of insulating board are laid on the rails to form the roof proper. The panels [5 are then covered with a layer of felt I6 and then with metal sheets I1. The horizontal joints of the sheets 18 are lapped and the sloping joints are closed by a batten construction indicated generally at I8.

Passing now from the general outline of the novel features to the specific details thereof, the clips l4 are of H-shape in vertical section, as shown in Fig. 4, being composed of a flat bottom plate l9 secured to the purlins l I by welding and a top plate 20 having a drop-center 2| welded thereto. As a result, clear spaces exist between the two plates 20 and 2| at the opposite ends of the clips I4. The clips are welded to the purlins as at 22. The several successive steps of the assembly procedure will be described in detail later.

The rails l3 are composed of a flanged metal channel 23 having a wood filler or rail 24 set therein. The channel 23 is preferably extruded from aluminum of other readily extrudable metal. It includes a web 25, spaced flanges 26 extending upwardly therefrom, and laterally extending bottom flanges 21. The tops of flanges 26 have inturned beads 28 and the sides of the wood rail or filler are grooved to accommodate these beads. The filler and channel are thus interlocked. The filler may be assembled with the channel by sliding it longitudinally therein. This may be done easily since only relatively short lengths of pieces are involved. The flanges 21 are depressed slightly below the level of the web 25 although substantially co-planar therewith and rest directly on the purlins. As a result, the web is raised thereabove by the thickness of the bottom plate l9 of the clips, as shown in Fig. 3.

Starting at either the upper or lower side of a section of roof deck such as shown in Fig. 1, half-clips Ma are welded in spaced relation along the top or bottom purlin. The first row of rails 13 is then installed by forcing the ends of their channel webs 25 between the top and bottom plates of the half-clips. The latter are simply clips M cut in two along the drop-center 2|. The end portions of the wood fillers are recessed at 29 to clear the top plates 20 of the clips as best shown in Fig. 4. When the first row of rails has thus been installed, clips [4 are fitted on the free ends of the channels with the ends of the webs extending between the plates of the clips as shown in Fig.4, whereupon the clips are welded in place on the second purlin. By repeating the procedure, a continuous grid of sectional rails l3 intersecting the purlins H is assembled over the entire area of the roof. When the rails have been completely installed and the clips welded in place, the former are permanently secured to the purlins, being held against movement in any direction. Clearance is left between the ends of the channel webs and. the drop-center of the top plates of the clips as indicated at to permit thermal expansion.

As soon as the first few rails I3 have been placed in position, laying of the panels 15 may be started. The panels are dimensioned to fit between the vertical flanges 26 of adjacent rails and to rest on the horizontal flanges 21 thereof. Upstanoling spurs 3i spaced along these flanges, penetrate the panels as they are laid and prevent shifting thereof. The panels preferably consist of two 1" thicknesses of cellulose-fiber board 32 cemented together, and have metal sheathing 33 of aluminum on the lower side. The panels are laid with this side down and in contact with the top or" flanges 2'1. When the panels l5 are positioned on the flanges 21, they provide a support for the workmen installing the roof and facilitate the installation of additional clips 14 and rail sections i3. Filler strips 34 of insulation are inserted between the upper edges of the panels and the top of beads 28 of the channel flanges 26 to limit fiow of heat through the latter.

When the panels have been laid, the felt insulating strips Hi are placed thereon. As shown in Fig. 1, each strip l6 covers the full width between adjacent rows of rails IS. A narrow felt strip 36 then is laid over each row of rails to cover the joints between the strips [6 overlying the rows of panels on either side thereof.

The weather surface of the roof is composed of metal sheets 31 having edge flanges 38. These sheets are laid in rows extending between adjacent rails l3 with their horizontal edges lapped and their flanged edges hooked over the upstanding flanges of batten strips 39. The strips 39 are jsecured in place by screws 40 penetrating the wood filler 24. Thus the filler 24 corresponds generally in function to a railing strip. The screws extend through anchoring clips 41 and a cap strip 42 of channel section is secured thereto by screws 43. The flanges of the cap strip embrace flanges 38 of the sheets 3'! and hold them firmly against the flanges of the batten strip 39. The joint between adjacent roofing sheets formed by the batten and cap strips is also disclosed and claimed inmy co-pending application Serial No.

4 131,926 filed March 3, 1947, now Patent No. 2,447,065, for Roofing Construction.

Fig. 5 illustrates a slight modification of the construction described above. The only difference is that the wood filler 44 there shown has a width at the top greater than that of the portion between the vertical flanges 26 of the channel 23, thereby obviating the need for the fillers 34. Otherwise the construction of Figure 5 is similar to that of Figs. 1 through 4 and the various elements thereof are designated by the same reference numerals.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the invention provides a roof construction having numerous advantages. In the first place, the roof is fully insulated. It is also light in weight and has good load-carrying ability. The roof is spaced above the purlins, the only contact with the latter occurring at the intersections of the rails l3 therewith. The rails and panels lend rigidity to the purlins and take the place of cross bracing therebetween. The deck is composed of members which may be preformed to proper size so that erection proceeds rapidly. The only skilled labor involved is the welding of the clips 4 to the purlins H and even this is a very simple job. As a result, the cost of the roof is relatively low. The cheapness of the panels which constitute the load-carrying surfaces contributes further to economical construction.

It will also be apparent that the assembly of the roof structure on the purlins H is accomplished easily and at a rapid pace. To assemble the roof it is merely necessary to follow certain operations in sequence. After a clip [4 is secured to one of the purlins, a channel section 23 is mounted thereon by sliding its web 25 into the space between the plates I9 and 2d of the clip M. In this respect, it will be noted that the channel sections 23 have interlocking engagement with the clips l4 and that such interlocking engagement is effected by an endwise movement of the section 23 relative to the clip M. The next step in the construction involves the insertion of the wood filler 24 in position on the channel section 23. As pointed out above, the filler 24 functions to reinforce the channel section 23 and as a nail strip. It will be noted that the filler 24 has interlocking engagement with the section 23 by reason of the beads 28 which engage in grooves formed in the sides of the filler 24. After the filler 24 has been inserted, a clip [4 is slid onto the upper end of the web 25 and is then welded to the next upper purlin. Other channels are then secured in position by following the above operations in a sequential manner.

After the channel sections 23 are mounted in position, their flanges 21 provide supports on which the insulating sections l5 may be laid. The felt strips I 6, lapping strips 36, weather surface metal plates, and batten strips it are then applied as described above. In connection with the assembly of the roof on the flanges 27, attention is particularly invited to the fact that there is no metal to metal contact between any points on the inner and outer surfaces of the roof through which heat may be transferred. It will thus be seen that all parts of the roof are completely insulated against the transfer of heat.

Although I have illustrated and described'only a preferred embodiment and a slight modification, it will be understood that changes in the details and arrangement disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A roof comprising a plurality of spaced purlins, rails of channel section extending between adjacent purlins disposed with their Webs down, said rails having laterally extending flanges on opposite sides substantially in the plane of and parallel to their web, panels extending between adjacent rails and resting on said flanges, a piece of screwable material filling said rails and secured thereto, a batten strip extending along said piece and screws extending through said strip and penetrating said filling piece.

2. A roof comprising a plurality of spaced purlins, clips welded one to each purlin in a row normal to the purlins, said clips each including a base plate resting fiat on the purlin and having a slot at the upper and lower ends, rails of channel section extending between adjacent purlins disposed with their webs down, the ends of the webs extending into said slots, said rails having laterally extending flanges on opposite sides parallel to said web and substantially co-planar therewith, and panels extending between adjacent rails and resting on said flanges.

3. A roof as defined by claim 2 characterized by a piece of screwable material filling each rail and anchored thereto, and a batten strip extending along said piece and screwed thereto.

4. A roof as defined by claim 3 characterized by the sides of said rails having inturned beads and said filling piece being grooved to accommodate said beads.

5. A roof as defined by claim 2 characterized by spurs upstanding on said flanges penetrating said panels.

6. A roof as defined by claim 2 characterized by said flanges being depressed slightly below the plane of said web thereby spacing the latter above the purlins and positioning it in the plane of said slots.

7. A roof as defined by claim 2 characterized by said clips each including a base plate and a top plate having a drop center welded thereto.

JOHN H. GOODWIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,633,641 Kasch June 28, 1927 2,249,106 Baumgartl July 15, 1941 2,447,065 Goodwin l Aug. 17, 1948 

